


Gonna Cut You Down

by felicia_angel



Series: Hopes and Fears in Time of Revelation [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Supernatural
Genre: Abusive John Winchester, Also a tree talks, Alternate Universe, F/M, I may also be playing the game while doing this, John Winchester's Bad Parenting, M/M, Multi, Sam and Lucifer are friends for some reason, The Apocalypse is weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 22:34:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1037149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicia_angel/pseuds/felicia_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continuation/Sequel to my DCBB "I Do(Not) Want to Set the World on Fire" - John Winchester never questioned the Society of Letters or the Enclave, not  until he met Mary Campbell, one of the Brotherhood of Steel's famed Hunters. Now, with his sons disobedience to the Plan, the release of Lucifer, and the beginning of War in the Capital Wasteland, John works to finish the ritual that would destroy his eldest son, but ultimately cleanse the world. He also works to kill Adam Milligan, but the Supermutant Fawkes and vampiric Benny are his protectors.<br/>Meantime, Sam and the others learn of Azazel's experiments and the reasons for them, as well as about the other Vaults full of Angels, ready for the Apocalypse that will destroy the world. Dean, with Castiel and the reorganized Brotherhood of Steel under Lisa Braedon, begin to go after the Enclave to allow Project Purity to finish, but not before Dean and Cas learn of a weapon that could finish the War once and for all - the Tesla Cannon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Workin' in the Dark

John Winchester finished his first broadcast as President, glancing over at the cooling bodies of Josie Sands and Alastair. A private nearby was shaking his boots, looking almost afraid that he’d be next. It made John almost sneer at the cowardice of the Enclave – even in the face of Alastair, Dean hadn’t been so clearly afraid.

“Clean that up,” John said, motioning to the two, “we’re done dealing with demons.”

“y-yes sir, Mr. President sir.” The private sounded almost pleased, and quickly got in a few to help remove them and clean the steel floor. He looked at it as he waited for news.

Steel was the one metal that seemed to be far too prevalent in his life, ever since he was twenty-two and given his first assignment by the Enclave. Now, steel was around him in the abandoned Enclave base that Eden, Autumn, and their traitorous men had left him. Steel was the Brotherhood as they reformed themselves…and steel was what had been left, when he exited the Vault with Sam.

_November, 2242_

His father fussed, but he was prone to do that. Henry Winchester would never be a soldier, was set to be a scientist with the Society of Letters, but John Winchester was both built and ready to be a soldier and a leader. The smarts of the Society and the training of the Enclave prepared him for it.

And after the fiasco in California, and the death of President Robinson, it was only a matter of time before the computer in the DC Ruins tried to prove something. With Autumn at the helm too, it could easily take over, and those rumors of ‘Project Purity’…

_And with that EDEN kit, the one that was made so differently…we have to deal with it._

Dad wanted to get to the East Coast, but first, it had to be proven that his son could deal with the forces of the Wasteland. Jodi and a few others were heading over there too – the rumors of dead Raiders and the strange rise of unintelligent Super Mutants seemed to hint at more things to check out, and the added rumors of a good-sized brood of Deathclaws over near Old Olney and a few other areas meant that they’d not have to worry about having to breed more.

What had once been Kansas was now part of the irradiated desert that stretched through what had once been the American Desert and now reached to any area where sickly water or ocean lapped up to the destroyed land. But that was simply how things were, John suspected. He had to pretend that this life was the life he’d always known, instead of one that he’d read about and scoffed at for so long, from the safety of the Enclave and the hidden stronghold of the Society of Letters.

“Hey!” the armor-clad woman glared at him, raising her gun, “I said hold it!”

He raised his hands, not wanting to provoke the woman, and blinked as he looked at her. He’d been out in this destroyed world for a few days, and had yet to see anyone so…beautiful.

“What are you doing here?”

“I…that is…” he pointed to a small bundle of scrap nearby, “I was looking for…some scrap. I sell it, at the towns.”

 _Wonderful move. Now you have to go into town._ He wasn’t sure he wanted to go anywhere near a town, much less enter one.

She huffed, nodding and he moved to pick up the few pieces of good scrap he could find. “Um…are you…I mean…”

“You’re odd,” she said, smiling a bit, “most people know a Paladin when they see one.”

 _CRAP._ He’d heard about the Brotherhood. It was because of their interference that Robinson’s Enclave had been destroyed. He would run into one of their damned high-level people.

“And you,” she slowly lowered her gun and continued to smile, “are not from around here.”

“No,” he gave her that, and for some reason, didn’t reach for his gun, “No, I’m not.”

\--

Her name was Mary Campbell, and she was the daughter of the Hunters leader, Samuel Campbell. She’d been raised in the Brotherhood, and hated it.

“I want to head over to the Capital Wasteland. At least there, Lyons and his group try to help out. They went into the Pitt,” the name for what had once been Pittsburgh, “and rescued some kids from the radiation. Hell, they manage to keep a stupid radio-station going and even have enough recruits that they don’t need to worry too much.”

“Why not leave?” John asked. They’d managed to meet up a few times, and apparently, neither had mentioned the other to their respective handlers. But really, who could blame them? The Enclave man and the Brotherhood woman, falling in love…Shakespeare was probably laughing his spiritual ass off.

“It doesn’t work that way. I leave, and Dad’ll get the few people he can together and go after me. Not even Lyon’s Pride will face up to him. The Hunters could take on the damned Enclave, if you gave them the incentive.”

He’d seen her weapons, and even knowing they weren’t the best, he also knew she could easily take out a good chunk of them. And according to Mary, she had the worst gear – all the better to train her with, apparently. Better gear went to the stupid kids that got themselves killed on the first mission.

“I believe you.”

“Liar.”

“No,” he said, looking at her sincerely, “I really do believe your group could cause us problems.” He blushed and then paled at the realization of what he’d said.

“Yeah…we probably could.”

_Present, 2277_

John cut off his thought and how hard it had been for them to get away. Samuel Campbell had figured out Mary’s plan and it had ended with a fight that only proved to John that technological superiority would be the winning factor. The Enclave just didn’t have the manpower to deal with the people that the Brotherhood had, and too few were interested in hearing the Enclave’s propaganda. No, they needed the technological superiority. They needed to have manpower, which they didn’t, or have weapons that would easily destroy the many that the Brotherhood or others could get.

When John had learned about the Angels, he’d seen his way out. When he’d learned what his father had planned, what John’s sons were to be sacrificed in order to get, according to a branch of the Society, he’d been both angry but also hopeful. For all he loved Mary, he could see why his parents still had the problems they did, and keeping his involvement in the Enclave a secret, especially as Autumn began to build his base of power, had been hard for those first fourteen years.

Then Azazel had killed Mary and James, had set fire to their home, and driven John underground. But, at least there, he’d discovered the best way to deal with what the Society had wanted. He hadn’t been able to influence Adam, but apparently his absence and his mother’s work had been enough.

They wanted two sacrifices, to purge the world and start again. John would only give them that, so they could have a world ready for those who might rule it.

The only problem, of course, is that Dean had needed constant supervision for his part in the plan. Sam had thrived in the Vault, had found a good match in Jessica Moore, and had been friendly enough with most of the children. Even when he found his power, had ‘rebelled’ to save that other boy that Azazel had made so they’d have a good grouping of super-soldiers that weren’t mutated abominations, Sam was still a good son. Dean…just never fit in, and it had allowed John to cultivate the necessary traits that could be used later.

John just hadn’t been really prepared for when Azazel and Alastair had decided to move, for Dean to follow him out and get other, unregulated influences. Nor had he prepared to lose track of Sam, especially after Sam had opened up the entrance to Heaven, only to let lose one rogue Angel.

Losing Sam had been a calculated risk. He knew his son would do the right thing, or at least see what they were trying to do by purging the world, and if anything, he’d be able to get the trapped Angel on their side.

“Sir?” he looked over at the private who’d entered and saluted smartly. “The Society of Letters is on their way.”

He nodded, accepting that information, and dismissing the private as well. He needed to find Dean again, and bring Sam back in. The problems within the Vault containing the EDEN kit would ultimately kill off Adam, and then John could work on making the better world that they deserved. The others that Azazel had created would be the basis for their guards, the Society would hold the knowledge, and John would pass on the Presidency to Sam, or one of the others that proved worthy.


	2. The Rambler, the Gambler, the Back Biter

_November-December, 2242_

John talked himself into entering what had once been Lawrence, Kansas as simply scouting around, and counted his blessing that he’d been given all the shots and water he’d need. It didn’t help that one man, Gunther, had all but looked ecstatic about the scrap metal that John had brought in, saying he was a mechanic who had to deal with all the leaking pipes and the like.

“We’re lucky more of the Vaults are opening, after what happened,” Gunther said as he fixed a pipe, “We got a few families who are from the Vault near here…they were good enough to lend us the water purifier to get a house in town. Most of the Vault trades with us here for supplies and the like. They’re good people.”

“Are they?”

“Well, not all the Vaults are like that. A few are just crazy.”

 _We didn’t create the Vaults to save the idiots inside_ , John thinks, but doesn’t say out-loud. Braun had been allowed his work, much to Alastair’s disgust, and the information that the Enclave got from the Vaults was enough to use for later. Then again, Alastair was a bit insane, which John and his father had put to Alastair’s on-again, off-again use by the Enclave, to where he had aged only barely since 200 years ago, thanks to the use of cryogenics and the like. Still, for all his sadism, Alastair did have a point. Braun’s results were mixed at best, and hard to really come by at worse. It made for shoddy details, and it also meant that the Enclave had to be careful with what they used or did. After all, if they weren’t, then the test could end badly. John knew of only a few Vaults that even managed to last a hundred years, let alone two hundred.

“I heard,” John muttered, shifting before saying, “Do you know of anything else you’ll need…while I’m out?”

Gunther chuckled. “You’re not fooling me. You’re off to try to woe Mary Campbell.”

John frowned as Gunther shrugged. “You’re not the first one, but you’re the most persistent, and the first one she’s given the time of day to. Plus there’s also the fact her dad is very old-school Brotherhood.”

“As opposed to…what?”

“Well, I heard out of the DC area that there’s a group of them who are trying to help. Of course, the Super Mutant problem over there is supposed to be worse than it was back in the day. And a lot of the stuff here is a lot of people trying to get into the old silos and like. Way a few ghouls tell it, the whole breadbelt lit up with smoke and launched rockets right after the Red Chinese starting nuking the West Coast. Of course, our bad luck was a few of those got blown up over this area, and then the rest rained down and we weren’t lucky enough to have an ocean to start cleaning it for us.”

The news of a possibly fractured and broken Brotherhood settled well for John, especially for that area. Doctor Chuck Shirley had left most of the Vaults _he’d_ had, meaning the super-powered beings known as Angels were in there, and if the Enclave could get to them, it would at least start to purge the world and set things right. He considered all that Gunther had said as he headed back to report, hoping he’d have time to go and return to Mary. He’d said that he was ‘reconsidering’ his role in the Enclave, and if he stayed away too long, he knew he’d lose her.

His father smiled when he saw John, motioning to show him a strange, older man with curling, graying hair and a disgruntled look on his face. A strange muzzle and odd item was around his neck and mouth, making John frown as he looked back to his father.

“Apparently Shirley’s little group wasn’t as well set-up as he wanted,” Henry said, smirking as John looked at the man. “That, my dear son, is an Angel.”

“Only one?”

“A good one. We managed to get that his name is Metatron, before he tried to escape. There are a few others, but right now we’re working on a way to keep him from doing something that could easily destroy our base.”

John looked at the angry man, who seemed to glare right at him, and said, “Any idea where he came from?”

“Our best guess is the Capital Wasteland. Things have been moving there for a few years, but Eden and Autumn are being far too cautious. Even with the fragmented Brotherhood, they have issues. Apparently Lyon’s group found Liberty Prime, and are working on getting him all prepped for the fight.” John frowned in annoyance. Liberty Prime had been a waste of money, for the Alaskan liberation that had required more men. The Society had managed to figure a better way to deal with such things, and it had won them back Alaska, and started the countdown for what would come.

The Society had known this. The Enclave had known this as well, and together, they had saved the ones that mattered, preparing for their return and for what was needed. Braun had gotten his wish, and his little group of Vaults were used to test some for the various conditions that they might run into, if anyone went from the ruined Earth to the stars.

“We did manage to get some interesting things out of him, though,” Henry told him, looking at John, “and Alastair is spreading rumors.”

“He would.”

“You’re seeing a woman, a Hunter of the Brotherhood.”

“Her father sounds a lot more upset by the prospect,” John said, looking over at his father. “What is it?”

Henry let out a breath, looking over at him. “I married your mother, because of love and because she was Enclave. It was the last link the Society needed.” John knew this already. It was one of the many things he’d learned, on the days that his mother wanted to remind John of why it was just him, and when something had happened that she hated to think on. It was something that had once angered John, until he’d seen the Enclave and realized what the Society brought to it. Considering what happened with Richardson and now, with Eden and Autumn, John knew it would only be a matter of time before he or one of his children managed to gain enough power to finally influence and control the Enclave. For all the annoyance at his father’s work, or even at the Society and their moves, at least they had a plan beyond ‘hide and then destroy everyone’.

“Alastair isn’t going to let us just put you on a long, deep-cover mission. Not when you could have children. And Azazel has something planned, to deal with the Hunters. Something that the Society doesn’t like, not one bit.”

“What?”

Henry told him, John watching the Angel before saying, “He planned that for her sons?”

“Yes. Why?”

John is silent a long moment. “Because I plan on them being mine.”

_Present, 2277_

Balthazar looked out from the balcony to the tiny speck that was Megaton. He could actually see it, of course - he was an Angel, and Angels were, if anything else, beings capable of looking across distances to see the city where some of his brothers and sisters were.

Tenpenny Tower had been a bit of a boon, at least for him. Nothing like getting rid of the old and installing a new order to brighten his day. Of course, it also helped that most of the people in the tower were fine with the change, so long as their lifestyle and safety could be assured. Even the guards were fine with him - if anything, happier, as Balthazar’s powers allowed their weapons to be strong and the walls protecting Tenpenny to be rebuilt.

“You should rename the place,” Burke muttered, looking out as Balthazar shared a glass of fine scotch with him, “something nice and Biblical.”

“True,” Balthazar mused as he drank, “Tenpenny does sound a bit...dull. Still, everyone knows it as such. Renaming it would just ruin the whole allure.”

“I’m still calling it ‘Babylon’ or whatever.”

Balthazar chuckled. He liked Burke - for all the man’s inability to blow up a city, he was cunning and good with getting and processing information. If anything, it made him valuable to Tenpenny Tower and it’s continued existence. Balthazar had decided to have Burke be his man, and Burke had been quite pleased with the whole thing. Especially since he’d been on Tenpenny’s shit-list for not catering to the old man’s need to watch a peaceful town get blown up.

“Call it what you like,” Balthazar said, turning to recline and let his wings unfold. The silver-gold coloring allowed for some nice reflections, and also sent a good, strong signal to whoever else was out there about who was protecting the Tower.

For all Lucifer and Gabriel might be roaming around free, Balthazar had his own little bag of tricks, and the ability to finally use all of them had made him almost gleeful. Even if most of them were protecting this small bit of humanity and earth, Balthazar wasn’t going to give up his new little place without a fight.

There’s a knock on the door before Dean Winchester barges in, which Balthazar supposes means that he’s learned manners. Either that or he’s extremely polite while looking ready to murder someone, Balthazar isn’t sure. For all he saw through Castiel’s eyes, and for all Angels recall many things, that doesn’t necessarily means that everything is remembered or really taken into account. Balthazar knows a bit about Dean - his lineage, the fact that his soul is...well, the way it is, and that Castiel is in love with mad Human. That doesn’t mean any of them really know anything about the world they’re now in, beyond what they can learn in brief instances from the third-hand knowledge dear Castiel had. So it’s up to Balthazar and the others to navigate with that, and so far, most of them have been doing alright, he can see. At least, with Gabriel’s little net now gone, they had more area to roam.

“Something the matter, Dean-o?” Balthazar asked, grateful when he saw Castiel come in and look a bit apologetic but also worried.

“When was someone gonna tell me my dad is the goddam president of the Enclave?”

 _Ah, that_. His first broadcast had been a few days ago, followed by a steady stream of others that were far more intent and calling for a change. Burke and some others had been glad for the changes - apparently Eden’s old broadcasts had sounded almost repetitive after a while, and had been more ‘nothing to see here’ instead of what John was working on.

John Winchester knew enough about the Wasteland to get people to join, or at least look at the Brotherhood differently. And he certainly knew enough to get some of the Wasteland’s group to turn violent or side with him. In the weeks since their leaving Heaven, since Castiel went after Dean and since Gabriel decided to piss off somewhere after Lucifer’s release, things are tense and, unluckily, in a stalemate. The Brotherhood and the Outcasts are, at least, rejoined for the moment with the combined threat of the Enclave and Anna. Uriel has gone off to who-knows-where, though there are hints he decided to go and ‘deal’ with the Pitts. Naomi was elsewhere, and none of the Angels were really that unhappy about that (all things considered - you never really get over someone shoving a spike into your head and making you ‘forget’ that the reason your friends are dead is because Michael might be going insane, and Raphael was showing his inner sociopath). Inais and Hathor were making good on keeping Dean’s house clean and safe, Samandiriel and Rachel were both happily working to keep GNR and the Brotherhood running.

“Considering you and Castiel only recently recovered from that stunt Gabriel pulled, I’d like to think I was justified in letting you _recover_ , instead of simply throwing you to the wolves,” Balthazar pointed out, taking a sip of his scotch. “Or are you really so eager to run off and get yourself killed again? You’re still not healed, meaning if you and Cas are seperated--.”

“He knows what could happen, Balthazar,” Castiel said, stepping close to keep Dean from attacking Balthazar, “and we can stand to be apart, if needed. Our Bond is more profound, now.”

Burke managed, barely, to not mention what might have added to said ‘profoundness’. Quiet, those two were not. “So I gathered. But I’m also guessing that he’s ready to head out and deal with the events that are brewing.” Balthazar sighed as he noticed Castiel’s resolve. “Brother, we’ve been through this.”

“Sam Winchester has released Lucifer, and yet Michael has not left Heaven. Raphael and others under his command are preparing to leave, and the Brotherhood, as well as the Enclave, seem to want to control it. On top of that, the Enclave seems to have knowledge of things that I, personally, find disheartening. And Sam’s powers, as well as his status as a leader of others who were engineered by the Enclave or are former Enclave members, is worrying.”

Dean shifted, looking down, as a black wing wrapped around him. For all Castiel’s wings were blackened by Michael’s power, Dean seemed to find more comfort in them then in the untouched ones. Balthazar guessed that was due to his connection with Castiel, but also due to other factors. It begged experimentation, but the sort that would, ultimately, hurt Castiel.

Balthazar couldn’t really be bothered with most people, and Dean Winchester was on the top of his ‘I wouldn’t mind if he fell onto a landmine’ pile of people. It was because of Dean that this whole thing started, after all. However, it was also a bit noticable that Dean didn’t like being the center of attention. If anything, whatever his father had done meant that Dean Winchester was the sort of person who cared too much, often about everyone but himself. And yes, there were flaws - a flawless person is hard enough to find, but one who wasn’t self-righteous or had other, deeper problems? Dean’s flaws allowed him to be approachable, to be human, and that had helped in making him the Righteous Man.

Of course, Balthazar was _also_ starting to see that having a prophecy with the word ‘he’ in it might also mean multiple people, not just one man who happened to need an Angel on his shoulder. Though, considering what his brothers were up to, the fact that the Righteous Man _heralded_ , rather than actually _did,_ probably meant that Dean would be a big factor in what was going on.

Burke, finally letting out a sigh, seemed to take pity on Dean and moved over to speak to him. “No one realized what was going on until your father seized power. There’s some rumors of re-enforcements coming to help him keep that power, and that he’s been chasing out anyone who disagrees with him.” A beat of silence. “He apparently killed the other two who were in-charge...a woman named Jodi Sands, and a man named Alastair.”

All the color in Dean’s face disappeared, Castiel moving to grip him on the Mark left, and Balthazar frowned. “Cassie?”

“Alastair was the one who...questioned...Dean, when he was trapped by the Enclave. He also was the one who killed Kate Milligan.”

Balthazar nodded. Adam had, after his mother’s death, gone off to find the final piece of Project Purity. However, that was said to be a suicide run - the Garden of EDEN kit was supposed to be located inside of the Vault housing the FEV and most, if not all, of the Super Mutants.

Dean was silent for a long moment, long enough to get Balthazar to actually start _worrying_ , before he said, “I need to get to GNR.”

“Last time you went there--.”

“Three Dog can send out a call, and it’s one we need to make. Reilly and the others can signal-boost it too.”

“Wanna clue us in?” Balthazar asked, getting Dean to frown before finally nodding.

“It’s just a rumor, but...well, I noticed some of it, when I went to get Three Dog’s stash over at Hamilton’s Hideaway. Considering Oasis and the like…” Burke seemed to catch on and let out a laugh, as if he hadn’t expected to hear anything of the like from Dean.

“You’re doing a call-out...a meet at Elyusium.”

Dean finally nodded, Castiel and Balthazar exchanging confused looks as Burke huffed in what sounded like annoyance.

“That’s probably the stupidest thing I heard. Granted, it’s probably the only thing that’ll keep us from being completely wiped out.”

“Mind explaining?” Balthazar asked, Dean nodding at Burke when the other man glanced over to Dean, then shrugged.

“Calling out, or meeting, at Elyusium is a phrase. It means that those who know call to...well, they call to the Gods.”

\--

When Gabriel first left Heaven, he’d simply walked away. Michael would never open the Gates and allow others to search for him, and while Anna and Metatron had run off to parts unknown, he’d found himself just...walking.

America was, back then, even worse off than before. Megaton was still working on getting itself pulled together, and all the way in the Core Regions, Vault 13 was just contemplating being opened. Despite the radiation, despite remembering America back when it had been shiny and beautiful, full of life and roads and everything you could ever need, Gabriel just...walked. It was the shock of seeing all of that gone, of watching groups and groups of people still struggling to survive, of the changes to so many. The Resource War was so long ago, a memory of another life, and now all Gabriel could do was look at the cost it’d taken, at what the end of the War had given them.

An older man, with one eye and a long, horrible scar, found him and offered a place to stay for the night. At first, Gabriel didn’t want it, but the man had snorted and brought him in anyway. That night was the first time Gabriel found out about the Super Mutants, and about all that occurred afterwards. It was also the day he’d gotten his new name - Loki.

It’s not until years later, when a dark-skinned, beautiful woman called Kali is telling Three Dog how to hold onto Gabriel’s loyalty that he starts to realize that Dad’s little group of Angels weren’t the only ones to get some of the special juices.

He honestly doesn’t mind being in the DC Wasteland, and really doesn’t mind when Three Dog takes up Galaxy News Radio and starts talking about ‘fighting the good fight’ and all. It gives Loki something to do, something new and exciting to do as he learns more about the people. He likes the banter, likes traveling to see the news of the Capital Wasteland, and really loves to listen to the music they find.

When the Enclave arrives, though, something inside of Gabriel knows this is the beginning of the end. When Castiel appears, holding Dean Winchester and having tied himself to the tainted soul inside him, Gabriel does his best to at least get things over with quickly.

He’s unhappy when it all fails, though to be fair he hadn’t really been as heavy-handed as Winchester or anyone else in this particular game. If anything, he’s held back as the tides shifted, and watched from afar as the players began to get things together for the endgame. It wasn’t fun to watch, and it was hardly something that Gabriel was happy about.

Lucifer would ultimately do something to the world. Michael would be forced out, and the world would be destroyed. For all that the others had said that his Father was wrong, or that tried to convince him that things would never occur as he had foreseen it, the arrival to GNR of Dean Winchester, of the Righteous Man, had only signaled what he knew would happen.

The Righteous Man would be the forerunner of the Waters of Life, of the arrival of Lucifer and Michael, and to the End Times. Considering that Castiel had already pulled out a Garrison from Heaven, that Anna had defeated most of the Brotherhood and possibly would end up going against the Enclave as well. He didn’t doubt that Anna would somehow go after the new Winchester-led Enclave, and that her Joan of Arc complex would finally end up with her burning up and taking everyone she could with her.

Gabriel considers if he really does want to go near Lucifer and talk to Sam, or if he should just send a message of some sort. He knew that Sam wasn’t really up for his brother to be around Castiel, and it wouldn’t take a lot to convince the young man that his brother was brainwashed and needed to be taken away from the Angel. Lucifer might even be happy to do what he could to keep Dean away from Castiel, to see what happened to souls when they were so tainted.

It made Gabriel wonder what had happened, to darken a soul so badly that even an Angel’s Mark wouldn’t heal such things. Gabriel would’ve liked to use some of that soul to, at least, have some power. At the same time, it’s not really his soul to take, and breaking the Mark of that intensity was going to take a lot of power and will. Gabriel didn’t doubt that he had the power, but the will he wasn’t so sure about. Dean Winchester, for all his problems, had a strong will when it came to things he didn’t want to do, especially with concern people who Dean had a soft-spot for. If a person got on Dean’s good side, they were going to remain there until they so horribly screwed up that the only thing you had to fall back on was blood-ties.

So like what was going on with John Winchester, and while Gabriel had told the truth, he knew that Dean wasn’t going to appreciate the reappearance. But he’d give John and Sam a chance, so Gabriel’s last possible chance to either stop things, or at least lower the damage, was to get either of them to talking to Dean.

Of course, that might mean dealing with Castiel and his little group. They were under his control, so getting them to finally fall in line seemed to be the right course of action.

Gabriel sighed and shook his head. No, he left because he was tired of being the messenger, the bearer of bad news. He wasn’t going to go crawling back with a cowed bunch of rebellious shits just because Dad’s prophecy was coming true, as all his prophecies did. He’d just have to work and ensure that everything went smoothly, or that it was delayed long enough that he wouldn’t have to worry too much about how badly people wanted it to end.


	3. Throw your Rock, Hide your Hand

Jake looked over as Nick sat up, the move so odd and fluid that it almost made him a bit surprised to think that was the only signal that the super-powerful being was having a nightmare. Nearby, Meg looked over from where she was stretching, returning stained in blood and looking far too satisfied with herself. Then again, Meg is kinda insane and gets off on violence in a way that makes Raiders shit themselves in fear.

It’s both disgusting and fascinating to watch. Add to that, the fact that her ‘rebellion’ meant she was experimented on by the Enclave and ran with the rest of them, it’s not surprising she’s taken to Nick. The guy, for all his weirdness and issues, still seems to look at her like a daughter instead of anything else, and it seems to be what Meg needs right now.

“Have fun?” Ava asked, frowning at Meg as she tossed the other woman some of the rags they’d found nearby.

“Very,” Meg muttered, looking around and shrugging, “I’m a bit surprised that the Enclave hasn’t been trying harder to get into Old Olney.”

“Between you and the hyper-intelligent Deathclaws, I doubt they’ll really want to,” Nick said, getting Meg to turn and look at him. Her posture, originally relaxed, seemed to tighten in worry as she moved to sit next to him. He gave her a small smile and took the rag from her, wiping off some of the blood. “You did have fun, I take it?”

“We all did,” she said, the mention of what said experiments did making Jake look away. He was strong, as strong as any Super Mutant, and all of them had their own little quirks because of it. Meg, who was supposed to be loyal, turned out to only be loyal to those that helped her, and was, in her own way, kinda screwy. It also turned out she could talk to Deathclaws, and she’d mentally overpower them if they weren’t very smart. A few, apparently some strain from the West Coast, were smart and they’d taken residence in Old Olney. Some talk from Meg and Nick later, and the small group now had their own hideout that wasn’t as picked-clean as the others, and avoided by everyone anyway.

“So where’s the fearless leader?” Meg asked, rocking back and appearing better, since she could see that Nick wasn’t as badly affected as he was after some nightmares. Then again, years of isolation could drive a man to either insanity, or to having nightmares easily.

“Off doing his kingly duty,” Ansem muttered, Andy giggling from nearby as Jake rolled his eyes. They were strong, and had a lot of people joining them who were weird enough in their own rights. The addition of Nick had only helped their cause, and their need to hide.

“You’re just jealous he can get a girl, let alone two,” Ava said, getting Ansem and Andy to glare at her. After what happened near the Cage, Ansem had gotten clingier and more invested in Andy’s health, meaning Andy, in turn, also got worried if his brother did stupid things. Case and point? Pissing off Ava.

Ava was the oldest of them, technically, and the most powerful in some senses. She’d been with a woman named Marie Curie III and hadn’t experienced any radiation poisoning or ghoulification, even with _two_ Glowing Ones nearby. Instead, she’d gotten about as dangerous as shooting Raiders in an abandoned car port. It was another shared trait, their ability to shrug off massive amounts of radiation. Only ones that could do that were Super Mutants, so Jake was kinda glad that they managed to keep their human looks and brains, instead of having to turn to some abominations of nature.

“All of you, stop it,” Jake said, glaring enough to keep them from starting another fight, “We don’t need to start with this bullshit again. So Sam’s off screwing his ladies, so what? Ain’t like you can’t go find yourself a girl or boy or whatever the hell you want…at least when Meg feels the need to get release, she goes and _does it_ , instead of whining.”

Meg smirked at the two as Ansem glared at her, like he was trying to kill her with his mind. Of course, considering that the Deathclaws were tied to her, Jake doubted he was that stupid. Ava glared but quieted quickly, Andy sitting up and touching Ansem’s arm. “He’s got a point, Ansem. We can go and find a good town with a girl who’s unattached later on, ok? Sam didn’t say we had to stay.”

“He didn’t,” Jessica Moore’s voice made them look, and Jake frowned as he saw her in that old Vault 101 outfit, the extra armor only making her look a bit more like some escaped inmate. “I’d rather not listen to you all fighting every time Sam, Ruby and I decide to unwind. Puts us out of the mood, gets us to be a bit more annoyed.”

Andy chuckled before patting Ansem’s arm. “My brother’s sorry, Jess. But we should go into a town and find a chick or two. It’d help out.”

Jessica nodded. “If you want to, go. I can’t stop you, and neither could Sam or Ruby. Just be careful – that thing that took Dean is still out there, and so are the others who want to take Nick back.” Meg’s shoulders tensed, shifting to lean against Nick for comfort, despite the blood on her, as Jessica said, “We still don’t know what’s really going on. Especially after what we heard on the radio, and with the Enclave becoming more active then they had been in years. We must be careful, and ready for anything.”

Jake nodded. He still remembered how Sam had saved him from that crazed man he only just learned was Sam’s father, and now the newly-minted President of the Enclave. Nick had said that the one who touched Andy and took Dean away was probably one of his brothers, and after getting a description, called him Castiel. Apparently, Castiel was once someone who minded the Gate, meaning he was either more fanatical then those inside Heaven, or had his own agenda. Jake didn’t think he should mention that Castiel looked like he was rescuing his love, though he knew that Sam had a few thoughts along those lines. Nick just thought it spoke of the fact that either Castiel had been corrupted, or that he’d turned his focus from protecting the Gates to protecting Dean. Neither was a good thing, of course.

“Angels love absolutely,” Nick had told them, in the few times they’d gotten him to speak of his old home and about himself, “and because of that, all our emotions are extreme. Michael and Raphael never seemed to understand that, and Gabriel…” Nick was silent a second, thinking of his brothers. “Gabriel…I don’t know. I think he understood it, but always just saw himself as a messenger. At one point, I think he came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter what he said, or what his thoughts were. And I know that…I had a hand in that.”

There as that. For all that Angels could do things in a very absolute way, Humans could as well. At the same time, they could also be nuanced, or have motivations in motivations. It was part of what made life so hard, and complex, and annoying in some senses. Sam, at least, didn’t see things as so simple, despite having been raised in a Vault. Even Jessica seemed to get that there were issues with just being in the Wasteland, and after going into an opened Vault for something, she also came out looking almost haunted at what she found.

Ruby and Sam came out a bit later, Sam wrapping his arms around Jess and kissing her briefly before looking over at the others. “What happened?”

“We were talking,” Jake said, “Andy and Ansam are thinking of heading into a town to get rid of stress, maybe see what else they can hear about Dean. See if we can’t discover more about what’s going on.”

Nick looked over at Sam before saying, “I also have been feeling the presence of more than just Castiel here. And if what Three Dog said was true, more of those Angels are around here, and some of them are going to be hunting for us.”

Sam let out a breath and let go of Jessica, touching Ruby’s shoulder before saying, “We’ll protect you. I’m not going to let your family kill you, and I’m certainly not going to let everyone else mess with my family. We’ll get Dean back, and figure out what the hell is going on with Dad. I’m not letting the Enclave or anyone else hurt people again.”

 Jake isn’t that surprised that Sam is a bit obsessed with getting his brother back, not after how he was taken. They all have to have something to focus on, and for a lot of them, it’s family or loved ones. Ava wants revenge for her dead lover, Andy and Ansem want to remain together, Jake wants to deal with the Enclave and the ones who made them…

Sam wants his family, to destroy all the evil that would threaten them, and then to just live. Hell, he managed to get one house here that still had a lot of its pre-war charm. Even if he had an unconventional love-life, what with having Jess and Ruby, the trio complimented each other in a way that Jake hoped for when he found a good match. Jess was, overall, the best at small guns and assault rifles. Ruby was deadly enough with swords and knives, but if you gave her a stealth boy she’d be able to get in and out of a place before anyone noticed all their caps were gone. Sam, meantime, knew how to direct, and he was pretty much as good with heavier guns as Jake was, even without the power-armor that the Enclave and Brotherhood wore.

“Where do we start?” Meg asked, smirking and looking like she was going to enjoy the battles to come. Jake chuckled and had to admit, he was looking forward to it as well.

_November, 2243-2253_

“Out on patrol again?” Mary paused, looking over to see her dad waiting near the exit of the old military base. The bases in what had once been the great American heartland were far more open than others that Mary had been in, and also more prone to high levels of radiation, the type usually found around undetonated bombs or the hold hazardous winds that some ghouls talked about. The reason for it was that the area had less places for the radiation to go, and it had seeped quickly into the soil. A few cities that had been near a river, or that had simply found a way to survive and move the topsoil quick enough to start fixing things, were all that remained. By far, more people were doing better in the deserts near Vegas, or the Core Region that stretched parts of what had once been California.

“It’s my scheduled time to go on patrol,” Mary said, not wanting to get into this with her father. She knew why he was asking, and why he was looking like he was ready to hit her. While Samuel Campbell would never hit his daughter, as Deanna Campbell would have his balls if he even threatened it, that didn’t stop him from doing all he could to keep her in the base, especially since the last few times she’d gone out.

Dad knew about John Winchester. He’d not approved of him when he was just some ‘no account drifter’ who traded with Lawrence for caps or a place to stay from his scavenged materials. But then, someone had seen John out with a known member of the Enclave, a high-up Colonel who only went by Azazel. Dad didn’t seem to hear the part where John was arguing with Azazel, or that he’d been beaten afterwards and left for dead, had the patrol not decided they were more than machines and helped him as far as they could. Mary still owed them for that.

Mary had known that John was from the Enclave. She also noticed that he never really seemed invested in machines or technology, but instead in people. He made friends in Lawrence, and he was just…kind. He wasn’t at all like the guys who’d been under Richardson, or even the few that they ran into around Chicago and the other areas. He was a good person, a good man, and she wasn’t going to let her Dad tell her what to do. She wasn’t a child, and she knew enough children who were in better control then their commander, or even her dad.

“I spoke to our commander, he’s decided you’re better suited to patrol _here_.”

Mary glared, staring her father down. “Like he’d know. He doesn’t even come out of the empty bunker unless his wine runs low.”

“You watch your mouth, girl. You think I’m going to listen to you badmouthing your commanding officer?”

“No, because you’re too much of a damned coward,” Mary said, seeing a few moving to either stop the fight before it starts, or to watch what happened. “At least John faced up against that demon. You won’t even help the people out in the Wastes.”

“That’s _not_ our problem,” Samuel yelled, his anger rising at the old argument, “You want to be some bleeding heart like Lyons? You think you can just go off with a few people and save the whole damned Wasteland? The Enclave is only around because they knew how bad things were _before_ the bombs fell, and now we’re doing what we can to at least ensure some semblance of what we once had remains. Our orders aren’t to play nursemaid to some stupid yokels who couldn’t protect themselves or survive. Our orders are to find and get old technology working, to use _that_ to protect ourselves. Are you going to throw that away for some stuck-up asshole who looks down on you? Someone who’s the enemy?”

“He’s not the enemy, and he’s never looked down on me! Not like you do!”

Silence fell for a long while, Mary finally moving and stripping off the Power-Armor that she’d worn since she was initiated into the Hunters, taking only the pack she’d had with her and the gun they’d given her for the patrol. It was a normal assault rifle, in only semi-decent condition, but she’d made it work.

Without another word, not to her mother who had run up, and not to the others who were standing there, watching with some confusion, Mary headed out of the place.

John wasn’t far away, wincing as he pulled out some scrap metal, and frowning when he saw her without the Power Armor. For all their talks and as far as Mary wanted to go, neither had actually consummated the relationship.

“You said you wanted to go to the Capital Wasteland? To start over there?”

John nodded, Mary moving to finally stand next to him, looking at the bruises he still carried from the beating he’d gotten for leaving the Enclave. He looked older now, tougher, and she wasn’t sure if that was just life or the Wasteland doing that to him.

“Take me with you. If we need to, I can get us into the Citadel, to where Lyons is. But…I don’t want to. I don’t want anything to do with the Brotherhood again.”

John is silent for a long moment, then nods. “I know exactly how you feel.”

\--

They settle on the other side of where Megaton and what had once been a small town, though not inside since Raiders had taken over the Elementary School nearby. Life this close to Megaton is nice, since they’re near enough to trade and far enough away to be their own settlement. The nearness also means there are less Super Mutants in the area, and when a few more people start moving in due to the remains of a general store and someone’s half-abandoned and failed shelter, which still had in enough food to keep them happy for a few years.

The settlement is small enough to not really be a bother – at first, it’s just Mary and John, but as time goes on, and right before the birth of their first son, at least three other families with young children or children on the way move in. Mary is glad for the company when John and some of the other men go hunting or scavenging for things to trade or eat, and when she becomes pregnant, is also grateful for the people who know what to do.

Dean is born in the winter, and quickly it becomes clear that John isn’t quite sure how to deal with Dean’s odd sensitivity to how others feel. Mary accepts it, especially after a few fights that they have as more people attempt to move in, or when he tries to keep her at home instead of acknowledging that she’s better than he is with a gun. A few Slavers getting too close is enough to start a huge fight, with Dean looking at her worriedly before hugging her and, as quietly as he could, saying that he’d never leave her.

Mary is suddenly very glad she left the Brotherhood and her father. While he doesn’t know about having a grandson, she can only guess at how he’d treat him. She doesn’t doubt that her mother would spoil Dean, but her father…

When John comes homes that day, he’s apologies and sweetness. Mary wants to stay silent, but John is persistent, and seemingly happy to nuzzle and kiss Mary all over. She is almost afraid he won’t take a ‘no’ for an answer, and while said treatment would be met with her fighting John off…she wants Dean to not be sad, and she wants to be held. The nights are cold, and John is warm but not in the way some drunks could be. He just is, a solid presence that comforts her and that lets her relax. In the morning, they can talk about what happened, and what has to be done.

\--

The last person let in a doctor, named James, and his young child, who Mary never quite learns the name or gender of. James is in mourning, and has come up from Rivet City, unable to cope with the loss of his wife. John and the others see anymore as an excess they cannot afford, and with other areas so close, it’s easier to just fortify as best they can and trade, instead of invite more people in.

Sam is born in the summer, and his birth is hard. Dean hovers, as if sure he should help but not quite certain how to be of help, and James has him care for his own child or fetch things. He appears fraught with worry, trying to do all he can to ease Mary’s pain or to ensure that both she and Sam come out of this alive, and Mary is suddenly very sure of how James’ wife died.

Sam comes into the world almost silent after his first few screams, and appears far more observant and curious, at least when he’s awake. When he does want something, his screams are loud, but he’s appeased easily.

It’s as Mary cares for him and recovers that James tells Dean of his wife’s favorite Bible verse, and John, who’s found an old, still in-tact Bible, lets Dean look at it as it’s read out loud. Dean and James’ baby look at the pages as if they’re magical, and Dean seems to consider the words as they’re read.

As her mother had, Mary tucked Dean in, and sang an old song to him, and said that Angels were watching over them.

John was downstairs, asleep but alert when she went to check on him, and they kissed before she headed upstairs and to bed. In a few days, it would ten years since they ran off together. Ten years since she left the Brotherhood, and he left the Enclave, and since either of them saw the men that had tried to control their lives.

_Present, 2272_

Though Balthazar offered to let them stay and plan, Dean wanted to go and warn Megaton, as well as the Brotherhood, about the decision to try and call for Elyusium. He wasn’t sure if Gabriel would understand the code words, and he also was afraid of what might happen if he did. After all, no one suspected that Gabriel was anything more than a person, or possibly a God.

“I am still not sure if I understand this all right,” Castiel said as they walked from Tenpenny Tower and out into the Wasteland. For all that they were being chased by the Enclave and others, the fact remained that pieces of Gabriel’s web remained up, and traveling by wings would be dangerous. Dean seemed happy to show Castiel the world that had been his home, despite the monotone colors and continued lack of greenery.

“When the Bombs fell, some of the radiation affected people differently. Some of them became ghouls, some of the ghouls went feral. Other didn’t, that’s how you got the ones over in Underworld. But…I dunno man, I guess other people besides your dad was playing around, or something. It’s a bit hard to explain sometimes. Hell, I’ve been here for a year and I don’t always get it right, but it’s that there aren’t just ghouls from the Bombs, or inbreeding or radiation or anything else. There’s people and there’s ghouls and there’s Super Mutants…but there’s smart ones that ain’t about to attack you, and cannibals that can sustain themselves on blood, and all these others. The Gods are…” Dean paused as they looked over at the horizon, where the Capital lay in ruins. “They aren’t like that, I guess. They’re more like Angels, but…not. It’s confusing. I mean, I met one that lived near Andale, but had a lot of the same ideas as those guys – keep it in the family, but any strangers that come by, especially families or couples?” Dean is silent a longer while, Castiel watching and noticing that, while before this might have caused dark spots to rise within Dean, they don’t this time.

“What happened?”

“Cas…” Dean shifts a bit, and a small darkness, this of worry, grows a bit in a way that upsets Castiel. “Can Angels die?”

Castiel thinks of Michael’s fire, of the screams of his brothers and sisters as they burn, and of the bodies of those that had somehow failed to completely take to being Angels, back in the days when he was in-between being Jimmy Novak and Castiel. He nods finally, and somehow, that relaxes Dean, though the worry remains but seems to harden. It, like the worry about Dean’s father and brother, seems now a permanent part of him.

“I killed that god. I had a chance to do it again, but…this one wasn’t hurting anyone. I heard…heard there’s a whole group in the Brotherhood, devoted to killing Gods. After what happened with Lyons, when Anna came in…they’re going to be coming here.”

“That’s why you want to go see the Brotherhood?”

“Lyons is considered a traitor for staying to help, and for pulling kids out of the Pitt, when he went in to deal with some of the assholes in there.” Castiel knows there are reports that Uriel went there. He hopes his brother is alright. “That’s why there were the Outcasts. They wanted to keep looking for tech, see if they couldn’t find something to help them out or to tell them more about the Pre-War era. Vaults only hold so much, same with everything else. At one point, the places get infested with Raiders or molerats or something. You lose a lot of things from that.”

“I…recall some of my life. Not all of it. Gabriel claimed he remembers more,” Castiel and Dean are moving along the ruined highway, and Castiel can somewhat recall when the highways were still working, when he’d driven with his wife and daughter to the hospital for a test…a test to see about those who weren’t able to be part of the War, a genetics test that had him wondering about the girl that he’d been taken away from. At the same time, it was odd to watch as well. In a way, it was like looking into Dean’s memories. For all that Castiel could see those memories completely, they weren’t his, and so knowing them was just like reading a book, or watching an old movie. Understanding everything behind it was difficult, and even with their bond and the Mark, Castiel could only understand so much of Dean’s moods and emotions.

Dean stops as a trader passes, nodding to Dean and then to Castiel while the Brahmin slowly plods along with him, a guard watching the two suspiciously until after they pass and show no signs of going after them. “I don’t…it’s odd, like having a memory that isn’t mine in my head.”

Dean chuckled, but also shrugged as they started to head back to Megaton. “I wouldn’t really know, man. Even with all Alastair did to me, I…he didn’t do that.”

Castiel knows that Alastair didn’t, and even if he did, the Mark had washed that away. Dean was his own man, for all that he and Castiel would be close forever and know the other in every way. But beyond that, as Dean had freed Castiel of Heaven and it’s rules, Castiel had freed Dean of the Enclave, and to some degree, of anything that Alastair might have done to make Dean return without his own consent. But all else – the memory of what happened, the guilt and pain…Castiel couldn’t take that away.

“Then the Gods are like Angels?”

“I guess,” Dean said, “I haven’t dealt with any of the higher ones…I just had to talk to a few others that were kinda FEV-infected people. And Harold was ok, he just didn’t realize he’d literally ‘put down roots’, so to speak. The other one…dude was fugly.”

Castiel chuckled and listened as Dean told him about Andale and what happened, then later about the small town of Burkittsville, or what had been left of it, which seemed to have fresh food. Dean hadn’t been well-received, but a couple that was passing by had been given the royal treatment. When Dean figured out what happened, and saved the couple as well, he’d nearly gotten killed but managed to kill the scarecrow, using a flaming sword that he’d made.

“There are a lot of schematics around the Wasteland,” he told Cas as the sun began to set and they got to Megaton, “I got that one from Vance and Lenore. Good people, they’re the vampires I talked about. Right now they’re over helping Arefu with dealing with any of the Raiders or gangs that try to mess with them. Lenore was helping out a kid in town, helping him get control of his bloodlust and the like.”

“I didn’t realize it was a problem,” Castiel said, considering how desperate a person would have to be, in order to eat another.

“Life was hard, and some…well, some are just not picky, others would rather eat that then anything else. It makes life difficult for everyone.”

Crowley is waiting for them near the door, looking a little proud of himself, but also upset about something. “’ello lovelies.”

“You look like you won the lotto only to learn it’s in pre-War money,” Dean said, frowning, “The hell is wrong?”

“Well, you are looking at the new owner of Moriarty’s. I felt we should keep the name…no need for Gob or Nova to go changin’ it. You should congratulate Charlie when you see her, she and Moira won’t stop being lovey-dovey and sickening. Sugar Bombs have less sweetening.”

Dean grinned hugely, but frowned as Crowley gave him a look. “What?”

“Some clowns came into town a day ago. Looking for you and Castiel, so the two that was holding up in your house went out to talk to them. Let’s just say…it wasn’t much of a talk.”


	4. Run On For a Long Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel mourns the death of his siblings, other Angels struggle to find their places as they are forced into Falling by Gabriel's Net, and and the Brotherhood begins to suspect that an Angel has given information to the Enclave.

Doc has the bodies of the four, Inais and Hathor looking peaceful in death, despite the wounds to their chests. Next to them, the other two lay as well, one a sister who looked peaceful, dressed in white that was unsullied despite the Wastes, and another, larger brother, lay looking angry and surprised.

“His name was Virgil,” Castiel said, “he kept the Weapons in Heaven. She…I don’t know. She wasn’t part of our garrison.”

Doc sighed. “They left wings behind. That something you do when you die?”

“I’ve heard,” Castiel said, “the…last time we died, we were burned. Wings weren’t always left behind.”

Doc is silent a moment longer before saying, “The Church of Atom guys said they’d hold a vigil, if you want. They’re nothing if not respective of everyone’s opinion.”

“Thank you,” Castiel said as Dean walked up, looking over at them and touching Castiel’s shoulder.

“We should have been here,” Castiel muttered, “they wouldn’t be dead if they hadn’t followed me.”

“You don’t know that,” Dean muttered, “but we should’ve. I don’t know what we could’ve done…but maybe something.”

Castiel is silent for a longer while, before saying, “You said the gods are like us, like Angels?”

Doc snorted, getting the two to look over at him. “You’re calling an Elyusium?”

Dean is silent for a longer moment before he said, “Doc, you surprise me.”

The other man chuckled before sitting back in the chair, looking at Dean and then Castiel. “I’m not much of a God. Just a little one, and I heal people when I can. I’m grateful for no more thunderstorms, but that doesn’t mean I really like a lot of what happened in the past.” He looked over at Castiel before adding, “You’re bringing up a storm, though, you and Dean.”

“That was not my intent,” Castiel said, getting Doc to snort and wave it off.

“Don’t worry, it never is. And considering how Loki treated you…” the two looked over at Doc’s eyes hardened. “You don’t think we didn’t notice a fucking net up, or that Three Dog didn’t give someone a call the minute that asshole pulled what he did? No offense, but I’m beginning to think those rumors that Angels are as self-centered as the Brotherhood and the Enclave is true.”

Castiel is silent a minute, before saying, “I don’t believe we are, but…we were made a certain way. It is…difficult to think outside of that. Even after all I’ve seen and done, it can be difficult in some ways.” Dean is silent at the admission as the Doc finally says, “I can get the word out. I can’t promise much, but I can get it out.”

\--

The Church of Atom, as well as most others, insist on burning the bodies, and Castiel doesn’t object to it. He can see the reason for it, in the aftermath of so many dying or having to face death. The choices are mass graves or burning, and fire doesn’t seem to be in short supply. Moira and Charlie come to see them, Moira with something she made for them when they returned, and Charlie with hugs and talk that fills the silence in a way that Castiel needs.

He wonders if this is how Dean has acted and reacted, to losses in his family. Despite the service, and Dean’s history, he stays with Castiel to watch over the bodies, a bottle of Crowley’s ale next to them. Ellen had left her own as well, she and Crowley at a better understanding then she and Moriarty ever were, and Dean finally wraps an arm around Castiel’s shoulder.

“Even if we were here, Cas…”

“I know. I hate that. I hate the ideas of ‘what ifs’. I’ve dealt so long in absolutes.” He’s silent a longer stretch of time, but doesn’t move away from Dean, the two watching the flames as they begin to die down, finally saying, “Raphael sent those two.”

“We knew he was going to come, to try and hurt us. We just…I guess we both thought there’d be more time.”

“I had hoped. I wished and prayed to Father, when I know he’s dead and buried…as dead as all others from his time.”

Dean is silent, and Castiel can see him thinking of another man, trapped in a pod, his body wasted away but his mind still active. He sees a trapped world of idealism and a little girl with crazed eyes, demanding Dean hurt others for her amusement.

“We can’t do much more beyond hope, and prepare,” the Angel finally told Dean, “Raphael is one of the Archangels. His power is fierce and absolute. He and the Angels with him will do all they can to kill us.”

Dean is silent before saying, “I’m not going to let them hurt you, Cas. You protected me from Alastair, kept me from going insane…it’s time for me to repay the favor.”

Castiel looked at him, and Dean gave him a look before standing, moving to sit in front of Cas, between him and the ashes of his brothers and sisters. “I don’t care how scary they are, or what will happen. I want you, no one else, and I’ll be with you no matter what the dangers.”

Brilliant blue eyes locked on the green ones, the two colors that had once been associated with the planet they’re on. Everything unsaid between them went in their look, the two remaining and looking at each other until the last of the flames died down, and the ashes were cold as Castiel finally said, “I will do what I can to keep you safe, Dean. No matter what…I have left Heaven for you, even before we began this relationship. I will stay out, no matter what happens. We are Bonded, and it’s become profound over all our trials. For all we may fear, we will stay together.”

Dean leaned forward slowly, reaching up to kiss Castiel lightly as Castiel’s hand went up and found the Mark, getting Dean to suck in a breath and start to slowly deepen the kiss. Castiel tightened his grip on Dean’s arm, moving to wrap his free arm around him and pull Dean close before they slowly stood up. Dean was taller than Castiel, but not so tall that kissing was difficult. Castiel loved the feel of Dean, of how his soul reached to Castiel to try and wrap around him, comfort him for Castiel’s loss. Castiel let his Grace move to touch Dean’s soul. The touches were light, causing the darkness and fear that Dean had been feeling over what happened to disappear as his hand went to grip the back of Castiel’s head, the kiss deepening as Dean pulled Castiel closer and Castiel did the same, the connection via the Mark making it easier for them to feel what the other did. Dean didn’t want to rush Cas after his loss, though he knew sometimes people needed to just feel after such things. Castiel wasn’t sure if he wanted to go to Dean’s bed for sex, though he wanted the comfort.

Dark wings wrapped around them right before Dean broke off the kiss, though he remained close to Castiel and held him in a tight hug. “We need to get back into Megaton.”

Castiel slowly nodded. “Yes. We have work to do.”

\--

Raphael is upset when the groups return, or at least when a few don’t return. He hasn’t moved far beyond the Gates, a sneer on his face as he looks out at the Wasteland. Many don’t blame him, and the absence of their brothers and sisters means that either they were convinced to join the rebelling side, or had been killed when they found the Fallen brethren.

Raphael waits a day after he sent them to scout, and frowns when a few come limping back, their wings looking like they’d been frayed. The Angel is only one of the few that he’d sent out, and he frowns before walking up and looking at the wing, then back to the one who’d returned. “Where is Hael?”

“She…her wings were torn. She Fell.”

Raphael tightened his grip on the wing. “Did she? Where?”

“Near the ruins of DC. The…there’s a web above us. It feels like…like the world of Gabriel.”

Raphael nearly growled at the news, but released the wing of the lesser Angel. “Go get fixed. We will deal with this later.”

The lesser Angel bowed, Raphael waving the others to follow him as he looked out, spotting the web he’d seen earlier. It appeared Gabriel had thought he’d want his fellow Angels unhurt, or the others outside had simply taken to the ground instead of risking their wings against that. Destroying it would take more power then Raphael was willing to spend, and besides, for all it might hurt his own men, it would at least keep the rebel angels on the ground and having to move at a more… _human_ pace.

The missing Angels also narrowed the search. Hael had fallen over the DC Ruins, near the Pentagon. Virgil and his assistant were off near Megaton, and Daniel had disappeared near that tower. So many were in the south, and he could look to the North, to where Lucifer had run after those humans had so foolishly let him go, when this was done.

“How went the search?” Michael asked, getting nearby but not outside of Heaven. Stepping outside would only soil Father’s First and Best, and Raphael couldn’t have that. Neither, of course, could that little toady Zachariah, who appeared to be shifting between the two.

“We lost four, but gained information. Considering how little…useful…information the radio gave us,” he motioned to the shorted-out radio, “it’s better than nothing. The rebel Angels all appear to be in the South, or at least focused in two areas. One is a new town, called Megaton. The other is a hotel high-rise, Tenpenny Tower. The last is that Gabriel set up a net of sort, over parts of the DC Wasteland and ruins. The worse of it for some of the others would be near the Pentagon, though I’m thinking that a few other pockets might appear as well.”

Michael nodded, glancing at Zachariah before saying, “As Zachariah knows this garrison the best, it would be wise to have him helping you.”

Zachariah looked surprised then smiled, making Raphael frown in disgust as the lesser Angel bowed and scraped at Michael before pledging himself to aiding Raphael however possible. Raphael didn’t know what Michael was thinking, and he knew better then to question his brother. Besides, if he did think about it, at least he’d have someone to focus on the problems while he dealt with the more pressing issues that might arise.

“Thank you, Michael.”

“We need to find Lucifer, and bring him and as many of the others back as we can.” At Raphael’s frown and look of confusion, Michael softened to say, “Father foresaw a Righteous Man coming, and taking a third of Heaven. We’re hardly missing that, and anyway, only Castiel was tainted by that false prophet. We kill him and Castiel, the rest will come back to the fold, and we can put this nasty business behind us.”

“As you say, brother.”

“We cannot lose Heaven,” Michael told him, “not until we’re certain. The waters of life aren’t flowing, and the days of Revelation are not upon us. Until all the signs are shown, there is no reason to leave Castiel and that human alive.”

Raphael felt himself grin. He saw no reason to leave them alive either…but then again, he wanted to destroy all who’d left, including Gabriel. It was why he was not in charge of Heaven – his temper didn’t allow for mercy, while Michael’s did. He would show them mercy, and that would be enough to keep the rest in line for the next few hundred years.

_\--_

Samandiriel sighed as he walked beside Jesse, Ben, and Arthur Maxson back towards the Citadel. While Rachel was a bit upset over Samandiriel going with the boys, he was also one of the only ones who could really protect them. It was easy for him to hide their presence, and to look like just a bunch of kids, running one way or another. Super Mutants, luckily, didn’t really bother them, and despite what some of the others said, Arthur was also the only one, besides Scribe Rothchild, to know how to work Liberty Prime.

Of course, they were also going back because Ben’s mother, the now-Elder Lisa Braedon, had been given command by Elder Lyon’s daughter, and was working to reunite the Outcasts and the main part of the Brotherhood. So far, it seemed to be working, and she’d sent out a message to have the ‘boys’ come back home. That meant, of course, her son, the descendent of General Maxson, and the boy who could bend reality.

Well, Jesse couldn’t do much of that, at least not now. He’d found himself quite powerful, and was beginning to wonder about how he’d gotten that power and what it meant to everything. Samandiriel was going to guess, after a conversation with Rachel, that one of their siblings would claim he’s the Anti-Christ, or some other powerful figure, and demand his death. For all that Samandiriel had enjoyed life in Heaven, he had very quickly begun to understand how bad the world outside was, and what it meant to be in danger.

The small group paused when they heard a cry, Samandiriel and Jesse frowning and looking around as Ben watched them. “What?”

“I heard something…” Jesse muttered, getting Samandiriel to smile. For whatever the others could say, he doubted that Jesse would be evil. He simply was special, and needed guidance.

“It’s an Angel’s call,” he said, looking around, “one of my sisters.”

Ben and Arthur both instantly became wary, moving closer to Jesse as the cry came again. It wasn’t loud enough to nearly bring down the walls, as Anna’s Shout had been, nor was it really strong enough to hurt the boys. Still, he could understand their worry and trepidation. Anna had done no favors for her siblings when she attacked the Brotherhood, or by running away to parts unknown. Still, at the moment, Ben was technically in charge, as the oldest of the Squires, and he seemed to consider a long moment before saying, “Alfie, me and you’ll go find the other Angel. Jesse ‘n Arthur’ll come with, and if she starts being mean, they run for the Citadel.”

“Your mom’ll be really mad if you’re hurt,” Arthur pointed out, shifting in worry.

“Yeah, but the Angel’s hurt. She might be a nice Angel…we have to find out.”

Samandiriel slowly nodded, looking over at where a softer cry came from before he and the group headed towards it, Jesse and Arthur staying away as Ben and Samandiriel looked into the half-collapsed building where the cries were coming from.

Samandiriel recognized the Angel – Hael – but frowned as he noticed she was hurt but hadn’t healed her own body. Ben looked a bit pale when he saw the glass and exposed bone, but he straightened and looked over at Samandiriel.

What had his attention were the state of her wings. Hael’s were like his, and many of the others, but while his had traces of gray, from the time they’d gone into the Gates and Michael burned away the taint in the Church, hers were supposed to be white.

Only they weren’t. They were instead torn, the feathers shredded to almost the bone and strange light and chain-like markings on them. Samandiriel briefly recalled Gabriel’s net, but also that it was mostly gone. He glanced up quickly, seeing the thicker part but also another, torn area. Hael had gotten caught and fallen through there.

“Stay away!” Hael said, Samandiriel looking back to see Ben moving towards her, a few Medpacks in his hands. “I said stay away, human!”

“It’s ok,” Ben said, kneeling just outside of arm’s reach, and slowly extending one of the packs. “This’ll help…I mean, I don’t think it’ll help everything, but it’ll start to. You need to get out of here, before Talon or someone comes after you.”

Hael glared at him, and then at Samandiriel. “You see them, don’t you?”

“I do. Let her help, sister. Stop being so prideful.”

Hael glared for a second before reaching out to take the medpack, frowning as she pulled herself out and Ben talked about the dangers in the area, about the possible area of Super Mutant activity and who Talon Company was. Hael looked slightly unconcerned, her eyes on Samandiriel as if daring him to say anything. He didn’t, instead watching her as she went through three medpacks, finally looking like she was fine instead of badly hurt, and Ben asked if she wanted to come with them.

“You’re with a traitor,” she muttered, what was left of her wings folding back as she tried not to show how much pain she was in. “I can’t.”

“You’re hurt,” Ben pointed out, “and maybe he can heal your wings.”

Hael looked at him, as if startled, as Jesse and Arthur looked in, Jesse frowning before saying, “The net did _that?_ It didn’t do that to anyone else…”

Samandiriel nodded in agreement, frowning and looking back up as Ben chastised Jesse and Arthur for coming back, Arthur now launching into a story about Liberty Prime and how awesome the 40ft tall robot was. The net was of Gabriel’s design, but it was fraying, and from the looks of it, someone else had put something in there. Barbs and spells that tore at an Angel’s wings and left them helpless and grounded.

“Please, Hael. We should speak to others of this,” Samandiriel pleaded with his sister. The two were both artists, creators who’d been thrown into a dangerous fight they wouldn’t be good at dealing with, “and Jesse’s right. The net wasn’t designed to hurt us like that. Someone else is hurting us. Please.”

Hael is quiet a long while, looking at the small group then up, before finally holding out her hand. Her Blade is lost somewhere, and she’s shaky on her feet, her wings still causing her too much pain to really think about. Ben gives her one last medpack, just in case, before they’re heading across the small bit of the Wasteland again, Jesse on lookout now as Arthur and Ben have their guns at the ready.

“Will they really help me?” Hael finally asked, sounding weary.

“They helped me, and Anna has hurt the Brotherhood recently. Despite that, they trust Rachel, and me, and anyone else who might try to help. It’s only if we betray them that they may never trust again.”

Hael thinks before saying, “Raphael is looking for you. I don’t know what he’ll order us to do, or even if he’ll save my wings. I heard about what happened at the Gates, with Michael.”

Samandiriel’s turn to be silent is long as he remembers, the memory a haze but still there. Naomi hadn’t done a lot to erase that memory, merely blocked it until the time was right. He could see how her idea that the Watchers at the Gate would be the ones who aid their brothers and sisters in leaving Heaven, in understanding that a Vault is no place to live.

“Raphael didn’t heal any of us. He stood by and watched Michael burn our brothers and sisters, then told Naomi to make us forget. Luckily, we didn’t.” Hael looks at him with wide, blue-green eyes while his own hazel ones lock on hers. “They won’t heal you, Hael. They’ll hurt you. Please stay.”

“I will…consider it,” is all she finally says, her eyes locked on the horizon and the three young men in front of her who’d shown her the kindness of humanity.

\--

Lisa manages a glare at Ben for perhaps five seconds before she asks Hael what she’s comfortable with and explains about the various types of Brotherhood people. Though Samandiriel is in training, still a squire like the others, he leans heavily towards the Order of the Shield, and Hael isn’t that surprised. Samandiriel always enjoyed protecting others, even when in Heaven.

“You don’t have to decide right away, child,” Rothchild told her as he typed in commands while Arthur and Ben spoke to Liberty Prime, the gigantic robot apparently glad to see them after the ‘Commie attack’. “Learn more about us first. Take care of your wounds.”

Hael has learned that, while only Jesse and Samandiriel can see her wings, the pain she feels is translated to how she stands and holds herself. It’s not surprising. Her wings were all but torn off, burned and she’d flung herself to Earth in the hopes of not burning as well. She considers some of the drugs they have, but also doesn’t know if they’ll be potent enough to help. The few who arrive in the Citadel, some with markings that differ from the ones on others, and many glaring at one another in a way that reminds Hael of the last time Lucifer had spoken against Michael, before being put into the Cage. It doesn’t take long for a few to tell her about the odd light, about Anna’s attack and it’s effects, about what the Brotherhood of Steel did.

There were two factions, which Lisa had managed to control like squabbling children. The first, Lyon’s, believed in helping the Wasteland outside, in abandoning the need for new technology and instead, finding what they could to help those outside. They didn’t look down on the Wastelanders because of their ineptitude with machines – instead, they saw that they were focused on survival, on fixing what they did have, and wanted to just deal in that idea. The other, the Outcasts, wanted to find technologies of the days gone by. They’d found a tomb and nearly killed each other over who got what, but otherwise were good people. Lisa had brought in arguing and angry members, sat them down as Samandiriel and she watched, and proceeded to lay into them in a way that had both Angels flinching and looking down like _they_ were the ones being chastised.

The Outcasts were allowed to continue searching for technology, to continue their worship of it, but, as Lisa pointed out, “We’re at war with the Enclave. They have all the technology you could possibly want. If you’re going to vent your frustration, go take them down and get a Vertribird or something. Don’t come here and expect me to treat you like anything but spoiled little children until then.”

Lisa had called in Hael and asked about her wings, wondering what could be done and if she wanted her to call in Rachel or someone else. A few of their number were around, but Rachel and Samandiriel were the closest and the ones who had joined the Brotherhood. Rachel had been given over to the Lyon’s Pride, to help take care of the GNR area and to watch Sarah deal with the relationships there. Samandiriel, because he got along so well with Ben and the other squires, was sent here.

“I…they hurt, but I’m getting used to it.” Hael didn’t want to mention that she was sure she’d never fly again.

“I’m trusting your judgment, Hael,” Lisa told her quietly, “I don’t know enough about Angels, and neither does Sawbones, to help out that much. I know you needed some medpacks to heal…Ben was worried about that.”

“I…” Hael wasn’t sure, not right now, as to why she hadn’t healed herself. She’d simply not felt the need to, not until the little boy with blue-green eyes had smiled at her, his soul bright like a warm light, and he’d handed over the medpack and not touched her.

“Do you want me to tell him not to worry? He’s thinking of going into the Order of the Shield. He can fight, but he’s a better mechanic. Granted, Arthur Maxson is also a better Scribe, but a lot of people want to see him lead.”

Hael considered. Arthur didn’t seem the type to lead, that was Jesse. But both Arthur and Ben seemed good at their jobs, at finding what was needed or at working on Liberty Prime. “Why Arthur?”

“He’s the last of the Maxson line. They’re the ones who created the Brotherhood.” She sat back, looking at Hael as if thoughtful. “A lot of the Maxsons were leaders, his great-grandfather among them, but that doesn’t always mean they all are. Arthur isn’t a leader so much, though he could raise to hold the position of Elder Rothchild.” Lisa shrugged. “I was a good leader, but some of the Brotherhood might take offense, since I grew up in the Wasteland.” There was another pause as Hael took that in, considering how Heaven was set up and had been run. Those who had been in positions of power weren’t always the best choices, the prime example being Zachariah, but others like Castiel, who were considered low because of his burned wings and strange ideas, had all the skills for it. Was that was free will was…being able to choose the best choice, not being stuck with whatever Father had left?

“Hael, Al…” she chuckled, “Samandiriel said that someone else had put something into Gabriel’s…Net, for want of a better word. It wasn’t Anna, as far as he can tell. He did mention that someone else left.”

Hael nodded, remembering. She’d been in the same Garrison, and if it was him…”His name is Metatron. He left, when Gabriel and Anna did. It was…odd, because he’d never gone outside like they had.”

Lisa considered before saying, “If you want to speak to one of the Scribes about it, you can. It doesn’t have to be me or anyone else. But if he is here, I don’t see why he’d put up something so…cruel.”

Hael didn’t either, and finally she said, “can…I mean, can I talk to Arthur about it? If he wants to be a Scribe?” Arthur had told her a bunch of his stories, and she’d always been happy to hear them. So had Samandiriel, and Liberty Prime.

“I don’t see why not. I’m not going to assign you anything until you’re comfortable here. You can leave anytime you want as well, but you’re welcome to stay.”

Hael wanted to stay. She wanted to find out more, to join and become a Scribe or whatever Samandiriel would be, and to not be useless. She finally nodded, and headed out to find Arthur.

\--

When Castiel arrived at the Citadel, Hael wanted to remain hidden, but her curiosity over the news of him having Marked the Righteous One, as well as the conflicting reports she’d heard about the role of the Righteous One, meant she ended up watching from the patrol area. Her wings still hurt, but not as badly as before. After some talk and instruction from Samandiriel, Jesse had managed to heal them a bit, while Samandiriel had done his best to look after them. They still hurt, and other humans couldn’t see them, but Ben had sat and watched and given her a bit of his Sugar Bombs when she was done. Arthur had written down everything she said and input it into the computer, and then launched into a new part of his story. It had eased her mind off the problems, at least.

The Soul of the Righteous Man was bright, but she frowned at the odd mix of darker emotions and the like on it. She wondered about it, but thought it might just be part of why his soul was so bright. Seeing it light up as Ben and the others raced towards him, Ben being lifted up happily as Arthur chatted to him about Liberty Prime, Jesse going to speak to Castiel about something, it made Hael realize that the talk of a soul like his ‘tainting’ Castiel was…silly. It had shown Castiel humanity, and instead of having to observe for a long time before he could understand, it let him realize what their condition was, far more easily then Hael or Samandiriel or any others might.

Castiel’s Grace was the same, even the small part that signaled the Mark on the Righteous Man. It twisted painfully as Hael finally moved to make herself known, her brother’s expressive eyes turning sad.

Dean blinked, looking horrified and confused in a way that made Hael almost look away in shame. Jesse had said that Dean could see their wings, but to have such a reminder.

“That must hurt,” Dean finally settled on, but didn’t comment or look at them again. Castiel simply hugged her, his own, blackened wings wrapping lightly around her to make sure they didn’t hurt as well. She accepted it, and was glad they didn’t talk too much or look at them. Jesse explained how he’d helped heal them, Castiel looking grateful to the boy and then glancing back at Hael.

“They picked your Garrison to come find us?”

“No. They sent a few from each. My brother managed to escape the Net…I didn’t.”

He sighed and touched her hand, his Grace moving to lightly touch her own in a reassuring manner. “I am sorry for being the cause of this.”

“Samandiriel believes that Metatron is the one who altered Gabriel’s Net.” Castiel frowned, then glanced over at Dean. The Righteous Man gave him a smile and a nod before going to speak to one of the Outcasts, Samandiriel arriving as Dean began to loudly ask about what happened after that ‘weird thing that showed him Alaska’.

“He…”

“We are uncertain as to all that is happening,” Castiel told them, “…two of our brothers died in Megaton, along with Hathor and Inais. And while I have not heard from Balthazar, at Tenpenny Towers, I fear they may also have gone to see him, and either met similar fates or managed to come to our cause. But news of Metatron is…disturbing.”

Hael knew that. Of everyone, Metatron knew the most about how Angels worked, and how to manipulate them. If he was here, and working on the side to harm others…there was no telling how long it would be before Michael was forced out of Heaven, and the End Times began.


	5. Let Me Tell You the News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enclave plans, and learns of Dean and Sam's activities. The Brotherhood and Tenpenny Tower work to figure things out as well, and Castiel asks Dean for more information about what is going on.

John is silent as the Vertibird lands, arriving at Raven Rock with its people and cargo, landed in the hidden area. After what happened on the West Coast, and with Autumn Senior’s move of personnel East, the Society of Letters had managed to set up a better base over in Chicago. What John is worried about is what the others will say. After all, he married a ‘mutant’, had _children_ with her. Of course, the fact that Milligan’s daughter had had his son, and left the Enclave without any authorization, was not that surprising, of course. What was more surprising was what the boy might be capable of, as compared to Sam or Dean.

Henry came up, giving his son a smile and pat on the shoulder, the Aquarian star within the American flag at least showing what the new order was for the Enclave. John smiled as the men with Henry saluted him, the Angel they brought looking around with a small smile, which widened as a crate of books appeared. They’d found that Metatron was easily bribed by stories and books, and while pre-War books were hard to come by, the Enclave still had a huge amount of them. Even with the destruction of the old oil rig near Navarro, their technology was still in the hands of those who needed it. And when this was done, they might even have the Library in their hands as well...

“President Winchester,” Metatron said, “I see you have yourself a problem with my siblings.”

John chuckled, remembering what Alastair’s reports had said, as well as the reports about what Sam had released. “Sadly, yes, and I’ve misplaced my eldest. Things aren’t quite going as we want.”

Metatron sighed, looking down at his chains before saying, “Not good. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone into that Vault?”

“Sam has himself a pure-blooded girl, I’d rather go in there again then deal with him screwing some FEV-infected bitch.” Henry seemed surprised and happy at the news, while Metatron frowned but also seemed unimpressed at the news. “He’s pulled out one of your brothers out of something a bit earlier. There’s a hint that he and Azazel’s little group of ‘special children’ are over in Old Olney, along with Azazel’s little pet-project, Private Masters.”

The new group of men and others moved as the Vertibird was put away and Metatron’s guards took him and the box of books over to the special room they had prepared for him, Henry and John walking into the base as Henry said, “I’m surprised that you didn’t mention your eldest son…what was his name?”

“Mary named him Dean,” John said, as a way of explanation, “I didn’t see a reason, all things considered. But he proved to be a problem.”

“Did he?” Henry asked, tilting his head as John got them over to Autumn’s old office, which John had decided to use after the ZAX computer that had been Eden was now back to basic functions, Autumn off with enough of the personality to possibly challenge them, but not a lot. So far, everyone but Autumn had returned to face the music, and John had been lenient on them for the most part. Following orders in this Wasteland shouldn’t be punished too badly, especially when they had to keep all their good men for the upcoming fight ahead.

“The Vault allowed for a better control of Dean and his attempts at rebellion. It also allowed me to keep him under my command. Before I had to leave, he followed my rules more than he did the Overseer’s, and that Overseer was supposed to be in supreme control. Now…” John just shook his head as he walked over to sideboard, holding up a bottle of fine brandy as his father nodded and John poured them both a drink. “He was far too happy to take Kate’s side, and even happier to argue with me. And after Alastair got hold of him…it’d be amazing if I was even able to hold him here without having to resort to putting him in a cage. The boy’s gone far too wild.”

Henry accepted the glass and shook his head. “I heard you also met your third son…what’s his name?”

“Kate didn’t let me meet him before we went to Project Purity, and I’m apparently not welcome in Rivet City. I heard she called him Adam…I take it there was some fun with his genetics?”

“Our scientists did have some fun, though I can’t tell you what exactly. I do know that Adam is the result.” Henry frowned as John looked disgusted about something. “What?”

“That _bitch_ told Dean I had cheated on Mary,” John said, being careful to control his anger. “I am many things, but I loved my Mary.” He remembered his fear and anger as the time for Azazel’s plan ticked closer, and of racing up to see Dean looking at his mother’s corpse, right before Azazel set fire to the houses. Saving Sam from the fire had, at least, given Dean something to focus on, and feel insecure about. “I did a lot to ensure that Dean would seek either myself or Sam out, and would work to get us all in the same place, or he’d stay in the Vault after getting the recording. Instead, he ran off and because of Alastair’s little decision, he’s run off to who-knows-where.”

Henry considered as they sat. Like many in the Enclave, Henry was long-lived, but unlike the Enclave’s men and women, Henry’s health came mostly from his knowledge of the esoteric and arcane. The Society of Letters had taught him many things, and it had kept Henry looking young, well into his nineties. At the same time, John’s own work and the fact that he’d lived twelve years in the Wasteland had taken his toll, making him look closer to his age, though he was in the same shape as he had been at thirty.  He’d grown a beard, and the harsh sunlight and radiation of the Wasteland had put lines on his face and gray hairs on his head. Henry, in the meantime, still had a head full of dark hair, though some of the strands were starting to turn gray as well, and the smooth face of someone who never had to worry.

“Is that why you shot him and Josie?”

“That and they weren’t pulling their weight. Plus, it was Josie who put him up to killing Mary.” He downed the drink. “I know Azazel had plans for Sam, and we have plans for Dean, but I would’ve liked a child to succeed me in some way, when this is all over.”

Henry nodded at that, downing the rest of his own drink before he stood. “I brought Milligan’s father, to learn what he was going to do and why his daughter fled. The man’s been…stubborn. Alastair would’ve proven useful.”

“We have others who are just as useful, and less inclined to attacking a project before its fruition. If he’d stuck to _my_ plan, we wouldn’t be dealing with the Brotherhood or more Angels right now.” John’s plan had not included Mary dying, or that exile into the Vault, or losing Dean to the Wasteland. It also didn’t involve alerting the Brotherhood of Steel that they were still around, or even alerting Eden of their full plan. If they’d stuck with it, they would’ve had Project Purity’s main scientist and his child, would’ve had the GECK set up and the purified water already going.

Instead, they had rogue Angels doing deals with people outside of the Enclave, they had Sam hiding in Old Olney with a girl who controlled Deathclaws and the rest of Azazel’s kids, who were expendable and untrustworthy. They had an opened Vault 101 that was more attached to Megaton then to the Enclave, and Dean had run off after being tortured by Alastair, to a point where getting him to trust or come near the Enclave would take too much time. The topper, of course, was that the Brotherhood now knew they were around, and would probably get support now. Instead of the instant kill that John had planned, the Brotherhood had more recruits, more outposts, and was well-liked among the Wasteland. Hell, the bastards even had a pre-War cache of weapons to deal with, along with Liberty Prime. For all that other Enclave members might underestimate the people in the Wasteland, John’s experience had taught him that the Brotherhood was not a group to be messed with. They were lucky enough to have a group that wasn’t as well-equipped or trained as the Hunters, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t still have trouble getting control away from them or their dog on the radio.

“Metatron is trying to help with that,” Henry said, “though I doubt the work will be quick.” He paused before going to get a glass of purified water. “Are our plans still the same for your eldest, Dean?”

“We’ll have to assess the damages first, but I think I might be able to do it. It would depend on what happened and how it’s affected him.” John looked over as the private from before, who seems perpetually scared of him (possibly because he watched John just shoot two people in the main office before casually sending out a message that he was now the Enclave’s president) walked in to salute and say, “Sir, we’ve located your sons.”

Henry looked pleased as John nodded to the private to continue. “Report, then.”

“Sam Winchester is still in Old Olney, with a small group of Azazel’s children. Three of them have left the city – the twin boys and a woman of unknown origin. We believe she might be known as Ruby.”

John didn’t like that, and he saw his father frown in annoyance. If he was right, Ruby was one of Lilith’s, a woman who’d once been rivals with father in the Society. She and hers had mostly been wiped out, after they went and worked with Slavers to gain more ‘test subjects’.

“Get a spy to confirm, but make sure they know to not engage Ruby,” John told him, “Same for the twins…after that fiasco in Paradise Falls, I don’t need to lose men to those two.”

The private nodded before continuing. “There are reports that Adam Milligan was spotted down in Point Lookout, dealing with the cult there. We don’t have a good base of operations there, and the locals make it hard to set anything up.”

Henry looked over at John as he thought. “It would be best to leave him be, until we know what he’s useful for. And besides, I doubt he’ll end up staying in that swamp.”

“It’s better if we do, and besides, my sons have a…knack…for fixing problems in an area. We’ll let him deal with Point Lookout and move against it later.” For all that John had been preparing Dean for a ritual, for all that Dean was only going to be used for one thing in his life, John had still gotten semi-attached to his eldest. After all, he’d done so well, even when he was rebelling, and had it not been for Alastair deciding to ‘play’ with Dean, and John having to try and get Sammy before he returned to the Enclave, things might’ve turned out differently. “And my eldest? What news do you have on him?”

The private shifted, as if afraid to deliver the news. Henry sighed before telling the young man, “Drink if you have to, kid, but the President isn’t about to blow your head off for being the messenger.”

“That’s because messengers should be rewarded, even for bad news.” The announcement had the private looking less stressed, at least. “Tell me.”

“Sir…he was seen in the company of an odd man…with the Brotherhood.”

John knew Dean was helping out the Brotherhood. After all, he’d been to the GNR station house, so he’d have to have run into the Brotherhood. Top that off with having helped the freed slaves get Lincoln Memorial, as well as dealing with the half-feral ghouls, and it wasn’t at all surprising he’d gotten involved with his mother’s people. “You shouldn’t be so nervous, considering their presence in the Wasteland,” John finally said, getting the private to once more look nervous. “Just spit it out, boy. I’m not gonna take out my anger on you.”

The private swallowed once more, shifted, then said, “He and…the man…they…they were seen…together, in…”

Henry waved, letting the private stop his attempts to talk. “He was caught in an act against God, you mean.”

“Yessir,” was the private’s quick answer, “er…I mean…it was kissing but…that is…”

“Enough, son,” John said, “You wouldn’t have gotten so upset if it wasn’t obvious.” The private at least relaxed a bit more. “You’ve done us a good service. Go back to your duties.” With a quick, sharp salute, the private retreated from the office and John sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“I didn’t realize he’d fallen so far,” Henry said, sounding unhappy with the news.

“Dean’s major flaw is his hedonism. He was caught with girls and boys when we were in the Vault and while I did try to deal with it there, I doubt he had the same discipline when he got out.” Another reason to dislike the Wasteland and it’s grouping of mutants and freaks – at one point, people started _accepting_ ghouls, Super Mutants, and the others who only looked human. He’s not surprised at all, then, that they started accepting relationships that went against everything natural. “That might become a problem.”

Henry considered as the private returned, looking nervous as he saluted while John frowned and asked, “Yes?”

“Um…well, it’s just…the Angel…he saw a photo we managed to get, of your son and the…other man. He said that he knew the man…that the person is an Angel.”

John found himself stiffen suddenly, Henry pulling in a breath before glancing at John, then said, “I’ll go speak to Metatron. If there are more Angels outside of that Vault, we need to be prepared.” He looked over at the private. “Private…?”

“Rogers,” the private said, “Aiden Rogers, sir.”

Henry gave him a small smile, casting a knowing and grateful look to John. Victor Rogers had gone out to find children and raise them as the Enclave, working to find Vaults or children with minimal mutations. Few commanders would give any children with that name a chance.

“Aidan, then, John needs to plan the next move against the Brotherhood and others. If you’re up for it, you can come with me and watch the Society work.”

The private lit up at the suggestion, John smiling and nodding for him to follow Henry out. The minute they were gone, John felt himself slump.

His boy was in a carnal relationship with an Angel. The one who was supposed to bring the Enclave to a new era, to restore America to its glory…he was sullying himself _and_ an Angel. The implications and hints of what that would mean was staggering, and not something that John thought he would be able to focus on, not without feeling the sudden urge to destroy something. He’d been angry enough when he learned that Alastair had hurt his boy, had gone against the script and all but tainted their chances, but to learn that his son was now kissing and having sex with an Angel, had not even _tried_ to find himself a woman…

John let out a breath and drew in another, calming himself. Metatron would give them information on the Angels, and they would get Sam back. Sam and Jess would have children – good, honest children, raised in the Enclave and protected from the world outside. The others, the ones that Azazel had tainted and that John had, at first, wanted to kill before he realized their potential…they would have the best treatment, would pass down their genetics and abilities so the Enclave could continue to prosper, so the Brotherhood would be a thing of the past, a footnote for history. There had been a try to create super-soldiers, and only now, after years, had they perfected it. John saw no reason to not take advantage, especially after he’d seen what that boy…Jack? Jake?...had been able to do. Strong soldiers that didn’t turn into a mindless horde were what they needed to go against everyone, and that boy could be a good turning point, a way to make super soldiers and not mutant freaks.

Dean was a lost cause, or at least he couldn’t be fixed while conscious. They had to bring him in, and possibly isolate him until it could be fixed. It would give them another Angel, another way to get into Heaven and another way to fix America. They could bring back the Heartland, the America that had held back China before its panicked and desperate attack.

Another knock had him turn, looking at the cringing form of Kate’s father, and he smiled. “Doctor Milligan…I have a few questions, and possible a task for you.”

\--

Setting up a way of communicating was hard, but between the Outcasts, Dean, and the Scribes, they managed to get something to work that put them in contact with Tenpenny Tower. Balthazar, oddly enough, was happy to come to speak to them at the old computer desk that hadn’t been working.

“Brother, you didn’t tell me there’d be some Enclave idiots at my door,” Balthazar said, shifting to show that Dashwood and the guards were holding Autumn hostage. “He’s a bit worried, since it turns out he and what’s left of the old President were betrayed and dumped.”

“Some of our brothers had…traveled to find us,” Castiel told him, “Raphael is trying to find us.”

“I know that as well. I may have ensured they couldn’t tell Raphael anything.” Balthazar’s demeanor changed quickly. “This isn’t a good sign, brother. Metatron helping the Enclave, Gabriel having run off again, and what Burke heard from the Enclave radio…” he glanced at Dean, who nodded. He’d heard his father’s Presidential speech. “How bad are things?”

“The Brotherhood has been…kind enough…to send us more men. Their elite group will possibly be here in a few days. Hael is…hurt, badly, and wishes to remain in the Citadel. Samandiriel wishes to remain as well. Rachel has taken the spot left by Gabriel and managed to secure a safe zone, between GNR and the Washington Monument. The Ghouls in Underworld, and the former slaves at the Lincoln Memorial, have secured at least that much of the Mall. Congress and the rest of the Wasteland is, according to the Rangers, still troubled by feral ghouls and Super Mutants. Rivet City is, luckily, too far from the action and has its own defenses, should the need arise.”

“What about the old Project?” Autumn asked, getting the men to glare at him before Balthazar waved a hand.

“He’s got a point, Cassie.”

“It’s horribly irradiated. I doubt even we can go in to stop it, and Super Mutants are beginning to also…avoid it.”

That was not a good sign for Project Purity. The machine that Kate Milligan, Doctor Li and that other guy, James, had made was their only chance at possibly giving clean water to all. It would probably even deal a good blow to the mirelurks, something that Moira was somewhat against, despite Charlie pointing out that they could, possibly, adapt as well.

“So it’s to be War, or just the Tribulation?” Balthazar asked, getting Castiel to glare at him as the others glanced at him.

“I believe that the Enclave has some ulterior motive,” Castiel said, “though what, we don’t know.”

Balthazar glanced over at Autumn, then back to Castiel. “We’ll talk to this one. I’ll be in touch, brother. Give Hael my regards.”

“I shall.” The connection cut off as Dean frowned, looking over at Castiel with some concern. “Cas?”

Castiel looked back at him and stood, touching Dean’s shoulder. “Your father did not do all he has done for no reason, Dean. I know that. And…a soul such as yours does not become the way it is without hardships.”

“I…there was Alastair, he…” Dean shook his head, because while he’d managed to speak to Elder Lyons and the others about it, he didn’t to Cas. Cas _knew_ , and that was enough.

“This type of power cannot be created in four months,” Castiel told him, making that old buzzing, the odd _need_ to find Dad and Sam and become a family again, come back in sudden, bright contrast. “Dean…what did your father do to you?”


End file.
